Gresham House bolts on new energy knowhow

Boutique fund manager is on a drive to boost investments in the real economy

By

Tabby Kinder

May 19, 2017 Updated: 11:40 a.m. GMT

Gresham House, a boutique fund manager led by Schroder Ventures founder Tony Dalwood, has negotiated a deal to buy a specialist investor in the power sector, as part of a drive to boost investments in the real economy.

Gresham said on May 19 it will acquire a £100m energy and infrastructure fund manager, Hazel Capital, for an undisclosed sum. Hazel invests chiefly in the energy sector in the UK, including renewables. Its expertise may help Gresham deploy cash from its planned "British Strategic Investment Fund".

The acquisition is expected to complete in the third quarter of this year. Gresham House has provided a £4.6m loan to Hazel Capital to secure exclusivity while completing due diligence on the deal, which will be used to grow its energy storage system products.

Dalwood said: “We see a substantial growth opportunity in renewables and new energy infrastructure-related assets and today’s announcement is the first step towards bringing a recognised expert investor in this growing sector into our group.”

The £1.7bn Royal County of Berkshire Pension Fund took a 20% stake in Gresham in February and became the cornerstone investor in the new Strategic Investment fund, which will attempt to woo other public-sector pension funds with a programme of investment in housing, infrastructure and innovative enterprises.

Gresham, which can trace its history back to Sir Thomas Gresham's foundation of the Royal Exchange in 1565 and Gresham College in 1597, was incorporated as a property management company in 1857.

It relaunched itself as a specialist asset management company in 2015 under Dalwood, who made his name as the founder and chief executive of Schroder Ventures Group between 2002 and 2011.